And having already spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Vanarama National League outfit Wrexham, scoring five goals in 21 games, Derry said it would not be a case of throwing in a youngster with no experience of what it takes to play senior football.

He said: “Gerry is going to bring physicality, he’s going to bring hold-up play, he’s tidy in possession and can bring others into the game.

“He can play up there on his own, he can play up there in a two and he just gives us something different to what the group is already.

“We’ve got Ben Williamson, who’s predominantly someone that runs behind the opposition, Uche (Ikpeazu) is someone who can do a bit of both and Gerry can do a little bit of both as well, but let’s not forget it’s another young player we’ve got.

Read More

“It’s always an occasion for any player. Leon (Davies) made his debut last week, so did Gerry, so did Paul Lewis, so to get a positive out of the afternoon, I saw that as the standout positive.

“Bearing in mind he only arrived last Friday morning as well and what we do on a Friday morning is really light because we want to take maximum energy for a Saturday afternoon, we didn’t have a lot to work upon in terms of the group.”